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You’d think that for someone running a small, one woman business, losing customers would be a bad thing. Well, from a financial point of view, that’s the case, but when you look at the bigger picture, sometimes it’s a good thing.

The reason some people need my recording help in the first place is because they’re having trouble finding a good drummer to join their band.
Recently I’ve heard from a few of my past drum track customers saying they’re really pleased because they’ve finally found a good, reliable local drummer to be in their band. And it seems that having good quality drums on their recordings has helped them find this drummer (their words, not mine!). They’re finding more interest in their music from drummers because the drums on their recordings sound so much better and more interesting than dodgy, repetitive midi stuff, and so their music is much more able to stand out from the crowd of “drummer wanted” ads.

A lot of people I record for are looking for a session drummer not a permanent drummer, so will come back again as and when they need more drum tracks, but for those who are having me record their drum tracks because they can’t find the right drummer locally and would ideally like a permanent drummer to be part of their band for rehearsing, recording and gigging, then I’ve ultimately helped them achieve what they wanted.

Basically it means that I’m losing some customers because I’ve done a good job, and that’s why it’s ok. They may need drum tracks again at some point in the future, and in the meantime I can continue finding some more shiny new customers with new music and new ideas from all over the world. It’s one of the things that makes what I do enjoyable.

I’ll write again soon, but in the meantime why not have a quick peek at my latest video, a little upbeat number with brushes. Thanks Caro Emerald!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year with copious amounts of food and drink! 2013 has started with a bang and I’ve got loads of things in the pipeline, but first let’s have a quick look back at how 2012 was for me and OnlineSessionDrums.

It begun with the small matter of buying our first house, followed by the sizeable yet enjoyable task of building my drum studio, which if you’ve read this blog in the past you’ll know all about (if not check out the studio build blog entries complete with pics). Having my kit set-up and miked 24/7 in my own house has been amazing. It’s meant I can record a lot more drum tracks and do it without having to leave home and lug all my gear around. The last few months of 2012 saw me record more drum tracks than ever before, so things have really taken off.

If 2012 was good, I intend for 2013 to be even better! In the next couple of days my new Audix i5 mic will arrive so I’ll be able to offer 8 separate tracks as standard (Snare top, Snare bottom, Bass, 2 toms, 2 overheads, hi-hat). By the end of this month I’ll also have my new imac so life’ll get much easier. The bigger screen will be great for mixing etc and I’m also intending to get Logic. Some of the stuff I recorded at the end of last year is being released in the next couple of months, I’ll keep you informed.

Aside from the online sessions I’ve also started doing a few drum lesson videos which I intend to do a lot more of this year.

Plus, I’m writing a drum related book (sshh, apart from my family and friends, I’ve been keeping this under wraps!). More to be revealed in a couple of months……

2013 is proving busy already!

Ta for reading, I’m off to impatiently wait for some snow to fall in the fashion only an English person can!

I get a lot of people asking me how I got into doing online sessions, so I thought I’d tell you how it came about.

There I am in 2010, a drummer whose CV included playing for Robyn (Island Records), Ex-‘Sneaker Pimp’ Kelli Ali (One Little Indian) and American Blues Guitarist Carvin Jones (check him out on youtube, he does crazy stuff like playing the guitar with his feet!!). Then I did something really clever….. I was abroad staying with family for Christmas and it was lovely and snowy. It turned out not to be such a good idea to go sledging (big sledge, sanded metal runners!) down a big hill on Christmas day. I managed to break my right ankle (bass drum foot), clever for someone who earns their living playing the drums. Plus, it REALLY hurt.

Forced to sit at home with my leg up for weeks, I had time to do some thinking, dangerous! As a drummer, I was very reliant on other people to get me work (bandleaders, agents etc.). I was always one step removed from the client/ customer/person with the money. I wanted to be in control of my work more directly and was prepared to work hard in order to be doing the things that musically I really enjoy. I’ve always enjoyed the creative process, sharing ideas with other people and I love being in the studio. Then I saw something online (thanks Tim) about Online Session drumming and everything clicked. Something where I didn’t have to rely on others (my success/failure was entirely in my own hands), could be creative, collaborate with people and spend lots of time in the studio, perfick 😉

I started out by buying a few mics and an audio interface. I set up my website (luckily discovered I like SEO and website building, although I’ll admit my first site was a bit basic) and recorded a drum cover of Star Wars to show my wares!

What started as a steady flow of customers in early 2011 (and my basic knowledge of recording remembered from my Uni days) has grown rapidly in 2012. I’m finding myself busy recording/mixing drum tracks most days and I can feel myself slipping dangerously into the murky waters of studio geekery!

Along the way I’ve accumulated lots more gear and there’s been the small matter of building my own studio. Equally importantly I’ve found out how much I enjoy finding out about other people’s music/projects, the ideas they have and becoming friends with many of them. Early on I realised from my clients that everyone’s different so they have different needs, so I try to make my service as bespoke and personal as possible and go the extra mile. For me it’s not about settling for average results and doing it just for the money, I really enjoy helping people make their song the best it can be. It’s really worth it when someone sends you a glowing testimonial saying how delighted they are and how I’ve helped improve their music – always brightens up your day!

In fact I’ve even got my own band that I record remotely with. We used to all live in London and had released stuff through a couple of small labels, but then our singer/piano player moved to Canada. Instead of stopping, we now all record and collaborate via email/file sharing from our own studios across the world. Far from holding us back, we’ve found this way of working really productive and enjoyable. It works a treat and we’re currently writing our next album. My clients appreciate having a creative person to bounce ideas off and opening their emails in the evening to find the latest drum tracks recorded, and I enjoy contributing to loads of different musical projects and different players all over the world.

Thought this might amuse you to finish with. Through no fault of my own, I ended up playing a snare on a chair for the first few numbers of a recent gig (lots of brush work!). It’s funny now, but wasn’t at the time!!!

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Things have been pretty busy since my last blog post. Studio-wise there’s been good and bad. My computer died :x, but I’ve got some great new monitors :). I’ve recorded loads of drum tracks and have been listening to some new music.

So the PC in my studio developed a black “Screen of Death” and is completely defunct (in a way that the guy who looked at it has never seen before!). My laptop’s been tiding me over for the last week or so, but I definitely need to invest in a new computer asap. Which brought me to the PC or Mac decision. The problem with asking other people’s advice on this matter is that you inevitably get into a PC vs Mac thing and it ends up a bit like Coca-Cola vs Pepsi – people tend to love one and hate the other so you can’t always have a helpful discussion. Anyway, after MUCH deliberation, I’ve decided to go the Mac route. I’m hoping they bring out a new iMac in the next few weeks so I can get one with better specs. So while a dead computer’s bad, it’ll end up good, because a new computer is always a good thing!

Here’s the last thing I recorded on the old computer (sadly I had to edit the video on the laptop though – seriously painful, but we won’t go into that!):

Dead computer aside, it’s all been going in the right direction. My new monitors have just arrived and they sound excellent – everything’s so crisp. They’re making mixing a real joy, so once I get the Mac, the studio’s gonna be well kitted out.

KRK Rokit RP5 G2’s, they look good and sound great!

I’ve had a really busy couple of months recording drum tracks (on course for my second record breaking month for numbers sold in a row!). There’s been plenty of really good rock and blues tracks and a very well crafted Velvet Underground style song that I got the brushes and tambourine out for. I got a couple of lovely testimonials too, which really bought a smile to my face.

Finally, I did squeeze in some time to have my birthday (lots of eating and drinking) and one of my presents was the new Muse album “The 2nd Law”. The first track’s great and should totally be the new Bond theme. After that, there’s some really good songs where they’re on form, but I wish they’d have avoided the dubstep influence in a couple of the songs. They’ve got the potential to be good songs, but are just crying out for some proper Dom Howard Rock drums!

Cheers for reading, I’m off to check for new imac release date rumours!

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It’s been a busy week of drumming in lots of different styles, but there’s also been a new addition!

As a drummer there’s ALWAYS something else you want, be it another cymbal that gives a different sound or will suit a certain style, a new snare or any number of other bits and bobs you simply can’t live without, it’s never ending. I recently discovered that recording gear takes this to a whole other level of madness, it’s infinite! I’ve got loads of extra bits to buy lined-up for the new studio, but in the meantime I’ve accidentally bought another drum kit 😉 This one will be for live work and means I can have my favourite kit set-up and mic’d in the studio all the time, so I can get a great sound quickly. That’ll leave the new kit for gigging and one for jazz (either studio or live) – see, I definitely didn’t have enough drums before!

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I’ve had a pretty busy last week or so. What with the minor thing of moving house (how can two people have SO much stuff?) and gigging in Amsterdam. The best thing about the move is that I can now build a studio at home – much more about this to follow in the next few weeks.

While I was away in Amsterdam, as well as doing a really fun gig and having very little sleep (late night, early airport pickup…), I managed to get chatting to a few people about what I do and they’re now interested in getting some drum tracks. One thing struck me whilst talking to them though, not everyone knows that Online Session Drummers even exist, let alone what we actually do. So, I thought I’d take a few sentences to explain to the uninitiated what I do as an Online Session Drummer (OSD). Who knows, it might be exactly what you’re after!

In short, I record custom drum tracks on acoustic drums in my studio (soon to be new, purpose built fancy studio at my house!). This means that bands/musicians/songwriters who are recording songs but for some reason don’t have a drummer (don’t know one, don’t know one that can play in time…..) can get top quality drum tracks for their songs. Even better, it’s an affordable option as you don’t have to hire a drummer and a studio separately.

People email me an mp3 of their song and we discuss any ideas they might have for the drums. Sometimes that might be by telling me what drummers or bands they like, sometimes I copy midi drum tracks and sometimes I get to use my creative genius to come up with the whole part all by myself!! Every project’s different which is great.

I then listen to the song a few times and probably jam to it too, trying out different beats before recording the drum tracks (I’ve got various different kits/snares/cymbals to get the right sound).

I’ll do a basic mix of the drum tracks before emailing a demo mp3 over for a listen (this demo’s free, people only pay for the tracks when they’re happy). Usually they’re blinded by my skill and musicianship and want to snap up the tracks right away ;-). Occasionally they want something done slightly differently so we make a few adjustments.

I send the finished drum tracks to people as individual raw wav files (if people fancy doing a bit of mixing themselves or are going to get it mixed professionally) or can do a stereo mix of the drums with EQ, compression etc. that can be imported straight into a DAW and you’re ready to go, whichever people prefer.

So that’s what I do as an Online Session Drummer, record bespoke professional drum tracks – and people don’t even have to leave their houses to get ’em, you can’t go wrong!

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Welcome to my new blog. As the name would suggest, it’s a diary about the weird and wonderful new world of Online Session Drumming – more specifically, MY world (OnlineSessionDrums.com).

What I intend this blog to be and what it might become are quite likely two different things, but the intention is to give you an insight into, you’ve guessed it, my life as an Online Session Drummer (or OSD for short)!

Whether you’re thinking about getting some drum tracks, are a fellow drummer or just plain curious about what an OSD does, there’ll be a little something for everyone.

From exciting projects, gear, tips and general goings on to how to make the perfect cup of coffee (crucial in any studio), get following.

Thanks, Claire (aka Brockster)

P.S. For those of you not from the UK, thanks to Ronseal for the catchy title of this post.